Nzimande: Serious organised crime behind train arson attacks

Speaking at Transnet’s Paarden Island depot on Friday, transport Minister Blade Nzimande commented on the recent spate of arson attacks on MetroRail trains, which cost the City of Cape Town more than R50 million to replace.

Besides the immense costs involved in replacing burnt-out trains, commuters in Cape Town are seriously inconvenienced by the recent destruction of multiple carriages, under an already overburdened MetroRail system.

Two Cape Town trains have been destroyed by fire this week.

The first, swallowed by flames at the Cape Town central train station, leading to the absolute destruction of eleven carriages, with damages exceeding R30 million.

A second train fell victim to arson at the Retreat station, on Thursday morning. Subsequently, the Southern Line between Steurhof and Fish Hoek was forced to close. Damages are estimated to be in the region of R21 million.

Cape Town train fires a result of crime

Nzimande was accompanied by Western Cape police commissioner Lieutenant-General, Khombinkosi Jula, on his site-visit to inspect the gutted carriages.

‘Serious organised crime’ is behind arson attacks on commuter trains in Cape Town, transport minister Blade Nzimande says after inspecting wreckage in Woodstock on Friday with transport MEC Donald Grant and mayoral committee for transport Brett Herron. Video: Ruvan Boshoff pic.twitter.com/eox5KxyicM

— David Chambers (@daveincapetown) July 27, 2018

According to Times Live, the minister and police commissioner blame criminal elements for the destruction, pointing to ‘multiple motives’, including cable theft and organised crime, saying:

“There are ordinary criminals who are actually vandalising trains‚ there’s copper theft and all that‚ but also at the same time there are elements of serious organised crime.”

Insinuating that there may be parties benefiting financially from the arson attacks, Nzimande said:

“We are talking to the police now to establish whether there are any commercial benefits to the people who burn trains.”

Return of the rail police

Nzimande said that law enforcement agencies were busy working on solutions to prevent further train attacks, including the reimplementation of the railway police force.

The minister has employed an elite task team, due to report back to the department in August on its findings relating to the latest spike in train arson attacks.

During his address to the media, Nzimande was flanked by Western Cape transport MEC, Donald Grant, and mayoral committee member for transport, Brett Herron.

Herron said that in the past three years 140 coaches had been damaged by arson, at a rate of almost one a week.

Speaking on the effect these arson attacks have on ordinary commuters, Herron said:

“We need to get out into the communities. I think we need to show them what the future looks like‚ but the communities must also understand we need their partnership as commuters to help us identify people who are hell-bent on destroying the opportunities which are created by rail as the backbone of the public transport sector within the Western Cape.”

Using technology to fight train crime

The City of Cape Town council has implemented the use of drones, equipped with infra-red cameras, tasked with monitoring train lines, and tracking criminals involved with vandalism.

MEC Grant commented on the true cost of train vandalism, saying:

“The actual vandalising that has been going on has cost us hundreds of millions of rands.”

The Cape Town MEC also believes there may be more to the arson attacks than what meets the eye – pointing to an external force standing to profit from the destruction, saying:

“The question is‚ who is benefiting from this? It’s not only the burning of the trains that’s the issue‚ it’s the vandalising of the coaches in order to get to that copper.”

Lieutenant-General Khombinkosi Jula said that while advancements are being made in the fight against crime affecting the train transport system, they are investigating the root cause of these destructive attacks, saying:

“We have some progress on some of the cases which have been opened. A number of other cases are still under investigation at the moment‚ and we are trying to get to the bottom of why this is actually happening in the province.”